Mythic State of Mind
Ch1: Hired Heroes
Luke Cage is at the local hole in the wall gym working out. His hood is up and he's blaring "Kant Nobody" by Lil Wayne in earbuds and doing Cable Chest Flies. Across the gym over by the dumbbell rack two younger males are doing curls, one is a black man and the other is a white guy in a wheelchair. These two young men are Roland Jackson and Garret Miller, members of the "Extreme" team of Ghostbusters.
Garrett: So what do you think?
Roland: About?
Garrett: About some of the hired help Ray and Winston have had around the firehouse?
Roland: I mean, whatever helps. We're spread thin as is. We really just need to hire on more people and not out-
Before he can finish his thought Roland sees Luke Cage doing his chest routine, his eyes widen at the fact there is an Avenger in his gym. Garret taps him on the shoulder but even then Garret looks to see none other the original Hero For Hire. The two ghostbusters both nod at each other before deciding to walk over to Cage in order to get a picture with him. Luke finishes his set of chest flies, he decides to go up in weight but he turns to see the excited faces of Roland Jackson and Garret Miller, so Luke takes out his headphones to talk to them.
Luke: If you boys are trying to work in you're more than welcome to, I got three sets left-
Roland: You're Luke Cage right?
Luke chuckles to himself and then looks around to see a mostly empty gym. Cage then turns back to the excited young twenty somethings that are in front of him responding with, "Yes, I am but let's keep this hush hush. I'll take a picture, sign an autograph, whatever. I just like coming here". The two ghostbusters nod and Garret says, "Of course sir totally get that!". With the help of woman doing tricep extensions Luke Cage takes a picture with the two Ghostbusters.
Roland: We appreciate the picture sir and everything you've done for the city!
Luke: Of course man, you boys have a good lift!
The two Ghostbusters then head back to the dumbbell rack and Luke puts his headphones back in but Luke then receives a call from Peter Venkman.
Venkman: Hello, is this Mister Cage?
Luke: Depends on who's asking!
Venkman: Luke, it's me Peter Venkman. We spoke on the phone about an ad in the Bugle last week.
Luke: Oh, the Ghost Buster!
Venkman: That's right! Well look I'll be honest I thought between Stark and the soldiercicle's pension I would've thought the Avengers were handsomely paid, I'm all for bringing you on board I'm just a little confused.
Luke: Tony helps out but I'm looking to get back out and be local man. I love being an Avenger but fighting two bit thugs in goofy costumes and going to other planets… it wears on ya a little bit.
Venkman: No for sure I totally get, well come by the Firehouse tonight and we'll give you the low down!
Luke: Sounds great, I'll be there!
Later that night, Luke Cage walks toward the Firehouse of the Ghostbusters. Luke pulls his hand out of hoodie's pocket to knock but the doors to the Firehouse begin to open. Luke begins to walk in noticing two older men in jump suits and a woman in a pink cardigan, these three people are of course Ray Stanz, Peter Venkman, and Janine Melnitz talking to a young man presumably in his early-to-mid twenties wearing a red jacket, spiked black hair with what looked like green tips, and a skateboard in his hand. The young man tells the Ghostbusters, "I appreciate it yo! I'll see you all next week!". The young Asian man turns around surprised to see an avenger standing behind him.
Luke: Hey kid, how you doin'?
The young man enthusiastically sticks his hand out for dap and has an almost boyish smile on his face. "My name's Jake man, you're a legend!". Luke daps him up and Jake looks down at his watch.
Jake: Ahhh man! I gotta run but it was nice meeting you Mister Cage!
Jake then gets on his board skating away. Luke laughs to himself muttering about "Kids today man." and then walk past Ecto-1 toward the Ghostbusters.
Ray: Mister Cage!
Luke: Call me Luke.
Cage pulls down his hood and shakes Ray's hand. Ray excitedly introduces Luke to some of his colleagues.
Ray: Luke this is Doctor Peter Venkman and Jeanine Melnitz. They've been with me since the beginning!
Venkman: So you're Power Man!
Luke chuckles at this and says, "At one time. It's just Luke now.". Venkman nods at this and Ray takes them on a tour of the Firehouse starting with the basement.
Ray: This is where keep a lot of the gear and also the keep the Ecto Containment Unit!
Dr. Stanz stands in front of what looks like a small conduit box. Luke curiously looks at the box as he steps closer to it.
Luke: This is small as box has millions of ghosts just locked up?
Ray: Tens of thousands, we're approaching about 20k and are about to start expanding which I'm sure you've heard about.
Luke: Yeah, Jameson won't shut up about how it's a waste of money.
Venkman then chimes in saying, "Good Ol' JJ, such a charmer!". Ray nods at Peter's sarcastic remark before explaining to Luke what the Ghostbusters are doing.
Ray: Yes, it's a lot of money but we are becoming a national organization. Our New York team has expanded considerably and Ron is in Chicago right now prospecting for a potential location.
Luke: Next generation of Ghostbusters huh? How's that going?
Jeanine: Most of them should be here by now if you'd like to meet them!
Luke agrees and the group goes back up stairs to see Winston Zeddmore wearing a navy blue blazer and shirt speaking with a handful of twenty year olds in Ghostbusters jumpsuits. The new recruits are goth girl with jet black hair and orange armor, a bushy haired hispanic man with a soul patch and tattoos on his arms, and the two young men Luke saw earlier in the gym that day Roland and Garret! Cage immediately points at Roland and Garret with a smile on his face asking them if, "You boys knew I was coming?" to which they decline.
Roland: No Mr. Cage! If we did we would've gave the tour ourselves!
Garret: Yeah that's right everyone! We're gym buddies with the one and only Luke Cage!
Kylie: Oh please, he could ten of you both without breaking a sweat!
Winston Zeddmore walks over to Luke Cage with an enthusiastic look on his face which Luke returns to the mogul. The two men dap each other.
Winston: This is what we need right here!
Luke: Nah man, I'm just trying to get like you!
Janine interjects saying, "Fellas, I don't mean to cut the moment but I'm getting a call from the others. They're out in Brooklyn right now and it sounds like they got a Class Five and need the help!" as she points to her earpiece. Luke and Winston nod at each other before Winston goes to suit up and the rest of the team leaves the Firehouse while Luke goes downstairs and Janine resumes her post at the front desk. Luke walks around the basement looking for anything out of the ordinary and for an organization that goes out to hunt ghosts nothing seems to be too out there. Suddenly the sound of high pitched voice grumbling to itself and scurrying can be heard from behind Luke causing him to turn around.
Luke: Someone there?
Luke begins to investigate the inventory shelf where he sees a number of inactive ghost traps, EKG machines, and defunct proton pack. Luke inches closer and closer until a slimy green apparition appears in front of Luke before screaming as if it was scared.
Slimer: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Luke goes to punch Slimer but instead of making the impact he thought it would, the ghost glides away and Luke's fist is now covered in slime. Slimer flies up the stairs crying and cowers behind Janine when Luke rushes up from the basement.
Janine: I see you've met our mascot.
Luke: That thing is your mascot?
Janine: His name is Slimer, he's a friendly ghost.
Slimer looks at Luke peaking out from behind Janine's chair, she hands Luke a roll of paper towels to wipe off his hand of slime and points Luke to the direction of a sink to wash his hand.
Luke: Sorry little guy.
Slimer exaggeratively shakes his hand angrily at the Avenger but Janine turns her chair around and raises an eye brow at the green ghoul. Luke washes his hands at the sink when he gets a text from his wife Jessica Jones that reads, "Hope you have a good night tonight! We love you!" along with a picture of their daughter Danielle asleep in her craddle. Luke smiles at begins to write a text back when he hears rustling at the front of the building and a distinctly male voice. Luke rushes to see Janine attending to what looks like a homeless man with scraggly brown hair, a goatee, a hoodie, and faded jeans.
Janine: What's wrong? Take it easy, everything's gonna be okay!
The homeless man yells at her, "THEY'RE COMING! THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU!" Before brandishing a pistol and pulling his hood down revealing his goat like horns sticking out from his forehead revealing that he is a Satyr. Janine raises her hands calmly as he opens the front door, letting in a Tiger-Man wearing tactical gear with a silver handprint on the vest, a Harpy covered in black feathers and piercing yellow eyes, and a large yeti also wearing tactical gear.
Satyr: Take us to the vault!
Luke seemingly comes out of nowhere sucker punching the Satyr so hard that the other side of his face collides with the garage door of the Firehouse knocking him out cold. The Tiger-Man roars at Luke swiping at his shirt cutting it while the Harpy begins to fly around chasing Slimer.
Luke: I'd go back to whatever fairy tale you all from!
Tiger-Man: We are very real and we have no intention on hiding any longer!
The Yeti bull rushes the Avenger with it's arms wide open and entraps Luke in his arms trying to crush Luke Cage. Luke squirms but seems unable to get out of Yeti's bear hug until a red blur crashes through the front door causing the Yeti to loose his grip on Cage and both of them fall to the ground. Luke stands up and immediately starts fighting with the Tiger-Man but from the corner of his eye, Luke sees a red Dragon with green spikes down it's spin. Despite the how muscular the Dragon is he is only a few feet taller than Luke.
The Dragon and the Yeti are both grappling one another and roaring in the other's face. The Yeti bites down on the Dragon's shoulder causing the Dragon to let out a very human sounding scream of pain. Right about then is when Luke decides to end the fight and grab the Tiger-Man by his tactical vest and throw him at the Yeti making thunderous crashing sound as the two monsters collide. The Dragon turns to Luke and gives the Avenger a thumbs up with his claws as he holds on to his shoulder. Luke looks confused at the sight but clearly recognizes that the Dragon is an ally. The two of them look up however to see Slimer still being chased by the Harpy, the Dragon flies up to the Harpy uppercutting her causing her to plummet back to the ground floor. The Harpy struggles to get up as Luke Cage, Slimer, and the Dragon all stand above her and her defeated allies.
Harpy: You think you've won?! This is just the beginning!
A cloud of black smoke then covers the room but when the smoke dissipates, the defeated monsters disappear. Janine peaks her head up from the front desk asking, "Jake, are they all gone?". The Dragon shifts his shape back into the human form of the young Asian man Luke met earlier, this man is Jake Long the American Dragon.
Jake: Yeah they got scared Janine! You okay?
Luke: Wait you're a-
Jake: A dragon? I am, my name is Jake. I've protecting the magical and human world since I was a kid. Saved the world a few times but I like to lay low you know what it is.
Luke: So what's the deal here then?
Jake: Well I was and still am helping out with protecting the Firehouse but I can't exactly do that and follow the guys you just fought. That's why Ray and Winston put that ad out... they weren't expecting an Avenger to step up but hey, no complaints on this side!
Slimer raises his hand to Jake for a high five which Jake does and Luke notices that Jake's hands don't get slimy. Luke shakes his head as Janine walks up to the two of them telling them, "I've called back the guys. Found out it was diversion by these guys!". Luke knows they aren't giving him all the details so he steps up.
Luke: Wait a minute! I need to know what's goin' on right now! Who were they and what do they want?
Jake and Janine both look at each other before agreeing to tell Luke everything the two of them know.
Jake: A couple months back, I was at one of the Troll markets here in the city and I saw a few Centaurs rocking clothes with a silver handprint on them. They were just talkin' to people on some anti-human shit which isn't that new for the community but they were recruiting and the next thing I know is they not only recognize me but start a fight with me!
Janine: They call themselves the Silverhand, based off intel from Jake and some of Ray's occult contacts their an anti-human extremist group. They've been attacking the Firehouse on and off for the three months-
Luke: Trying to get into that vault in the basement?
Janine: Exactly! Ray thinks they want to turn into an ecto-bomb and total the city.
Luke: Why have you not came to the Avengers or Stephen Strange about this? I know most people are willfully ignorant about stuff like this but we've been aware that shit is real.
Janine: Both Ray and Peter have tried to get meetings with Tony but you know how he is.
Luke chuckles at the comment nodding in agreement. Luke Cage turns to his newfound allies Jake Long, Janine Melnitz, and Slimer asking the three of them, "So, when do we start?".
Author's Note
What's up everybody! Really excited to finally get this story out there, this is obviously a prequel to Luke Cage's chapter in "The Search For Johnny Cage" but it's also the first of a handful of stories I am calling the "Mythic Saga"! But this is just one of the handful of stories that are essential to the over arcing narrative I have been building. Stay tuned more shit is on the way!